[Obligatory "digital distribution ruins game preservation/precious data caps"]So a couple weeks ago, Humble Bundle offered Lego Hobbit and Lego Lord of the Rings for free. Nice huh? I like free stuff, I take advantage of them whenever I can. What was strange though was those games were offered only a few days from each other. Were they hinting at something? Was there potentially a Lego adaption for the new Mortal Engines mov- (ok, the title spoiled it, both games were removed off all digital stores for copyright reasons.) This crud is nothing new and very tiring, proving how important physical distribution is important and how easily erasable digital is. What I think I canadd to this conversation though is someone at Traveler's Tale or Warner Bros knew about the license expiration. There can't be a simple coincidence, that person understood the importance of game preservation and got Humble Bundle to offer the two game to the public before digital distribution of the games could be erased. This is a change of pace as publishers normally just remove the game, sometimes offering a discount, but never a charity like this! This may not convince publishers to push for physical distribution, but it's nice to see some care about preservation. Thoughts?

I think this digital rights stuff brings out the worst in publishers. They limit the licensing to a small period of time, and then probably try to barter with the stores for a lucrative extension. If they aren't happy with the terms, they just pull the game altogether.

Imagine if this happened in the physical game world! You go over to your shelf to pull off a game you haven't played in five years. Suddenly a strange man walks in and grabs it from your hands and asks, "how much are you willing to pay to play this game?"